Conflict of Laws › Business Torts › Intellectual Property

Decisions Highlight Split In Application Of Computer Fraud And Abuse Act

Trade secret claims have historically derived from state common law causes of action and, subsequently, most states’ adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which codifies that common law and generally proscribes the...more

Recent Federal Court Rulings Reaffirm Broad Supersession of Common Law Claims under California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act

Last month, two federal district courts reaffirmed that litigants may not plead around California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) by alleging common law tort claims said to protect business information that does not...more

TheFlyonTheWall: A Judicial Paradox? By Robert P. LoBue

Lawyers crave structure. Give them a cause of action that has several well defined elements and you can keep them occupied for days on end, arguing about each prong. If you number the elements so they can converse in code, so...more

Court Rejects “Hot News” Protection for Stock Recommendations

The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in Barclays Capital Inc. v. Theflyonthewall.com, Inc., No. 10-1372-cv (June 20, 2011) that a financial news service did not misappropriate analyst research by publishing stock...more

Empresa Cubana v. U.S.(Havana ClubTrademark Dispute)

Decision on Havana Club Trademark Dispute Between Bacardi and Pernod

A divided appeals court in Washington ruled in favor of the U.S. Treasury Department's refusal to renew a Cuban company's trademark for "Havana Club" rum. The decision is the latest development in a long and bitter dispute...more